Getaways

I am giddy.

I have planned a trip for the four of us to Flagstaff. I never thought Flagstaff would thrill me that much, but the idea of escaping Arizona July Heat gives me the giggles.

I haven't had much luck with vacations this summer. Our annual Father's Day weekend in Lakeside was a bust for me since I had a migraine the whole time, but the boys had fun.

Cash caught THREE fish!

Due to said migraines I skipped out on Michigan with my parents. Which suuucks because they visited Mackinac Island where Somewhere In Time was filmed.

Maybe if we are lucky I we will get a weekend in San Diego before I go back to school. But, truth be told, hanging out in my PJs with my boys and the AC raging around us, is pretty sweet, too.

Summertime Overheards

Overheard in a seedy bedroom of two little boys, "You are my brother and I love you, but jump in the hot lava."

Overheard during a seedy bath time, "Smell my butt."

Overheard in a seedy TV room, "Did you hear that? ... Now do you smell it?"

Cheese-wick

So this happened.

We added a new furry friend to our family. We got him from our favorite rescue, HALO, where we also got Tucker.

His name is Cheeze It. No, I didn't pick it out. Yes, it is spelled that way on his paperwork and micro-chip. (Ugh.) We tried to change it, but Cash insists on calling him "Cheese Wick".

And, really, Cheese Wick is better than Cheeze It, or Cheez It, or Cheesy (which I have resorted to calling him.)

30 days...day 12

Day 12: Describe a typical day in your current life.

Now that school is over for Jeff and it's summer break for me and the boys, the current life is pretty easy going.

It used to be like this: Everybody up around 5:30am. We get ready together. Jeff is out the door, headed to school by 6:30am. The boys and I are off around 7am. After work Jeff goes to work around noon, to be home around 9pm. I work until 4:30-5pm, and pick the boys up from my parents who (like the rockstars they are) have graciously picked the boys up from the sitter (they did this all year for us). I am home around 5:30pm to make dinner, do homework, finish chores, and eventually put the boys to bed around 8pm. I wait for Jeff to come home. Bed.

It is now like this (summer edition): Jeff gets to work around 5am and gets home around 4pm. Boys have been at camp for a couple weeks. Me, it's like this:

And when I say "party", I mean read a book, or clean the top of my refrigerator. 

When B is away

Bradley is a 72 year old person in a 7 year old body. He is going to make the best crotchety old person some day. In the meantime he is like one of those service dogs that loves to visit old people in the nursing home. He is so sweet, charming, and sincerely interested in other people's life stories.

Over the last couple months he has been asking to go to Kansas and visit great-grandma. A couple summers ago we took a road trip with my mom and a baby Cashy. Apparently, B remembers every part of this trip and wants to go back and see GG Dorothy. (Yes, that is correct, I have a grandma in Kansas named Dorothy, and she does not think it's very interesting or funny, thank you very much. And NO, she does not have a dog named Toto. Why do you ask?)

Baby B's first trip to Kansas.

The most amazing fun B has ever had in Kansas. PS- Gawd, Cash. Could you look less attractive?

Grandma baked so much he always had a cookie in his hadn. Even at nap. 

And all the horses were there for him to ride.

My mom decided to take B with her for a grand Kansas adventure (hint hint: grand is ironic). According to text messages, all is well, fun is being had, the little old ladies in GGD's assisted living looovve B, and it's totally my mom's fault that B barfed in the middle of the first night because he ate so many treats. K, thx, mom.

With B gone, we are parents to an only child. A child that has never had the glory of being an only child. We have taken him on the light rail a couple times, dined at real adult places, gone treasure hunting (thrift store shopping), ridden miniature ponies, and I EVEN LET HIM HAVE CANDY FOR BREAKFAST. I have a couple more activities planned for him that involve water and swimsuits. Hoorraayy! Is it me, or is it easier with one? It's me, isn't it? I totally have a warped mindset, right?

And you know what? Cash is acting amazing. He is following directions the first time and being helpful. What does this mean?! Do I have to keep giving him candy? Do I have to take him to real dinners? There is a lesson here somewhere. Hopefully it is not that I have to give up one of my children. JK. Kind of. Maybe.

To be fair, Cash gets a good case of the sads if we don't distract him. He has been asking for Bradley and when they talked on the phone the other day, I almost melted when I heard Cashy say, "I love you, Bradley." And B answered, "Yeahhh, I love you, too, Cashy."

30 days...Day 11

Oh, look. I have fodder for posts. An unfinished challenge.

Day 11: Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

(Oh, this should be easy... I don't even need Jeff by my side for this one.)

1. People who speed up on the freeway to get in front of me when I am entering/they are exiting. Jerks.

2. Little (and big) boys that strip off their clothes next to the dirty clothes hamper. Jerks.

3. Little dogs that take little boy socks and hide them around the house and yard. Jerk.

4. People who stop walking in front of you. Pull off the promenade, ass!

5. People who dress up in anime costumes for Matsuri. Douches.

6. People who swing their wheel the opposite direction before turning. Double jerk.

7. People who wear white sunglasses. Double douche.

8. People driving slow in the left lane. Seriously, asshole?

9. People that make comments about what/how much I or other people eat. Mind your own business, ass.

10. Vaguebooking. Tell us what is happening or hold your tongue, jerk.

Hiatus Ended

The last year has been the most hectic one for our family. New home, new jobs, new dogs, new headaches, and new joys.

I am going to make an effort this summer to get back in touch. I have so many friends and family members who are also making big life changes and--even with Facebook--it's difficult to keep everyone in the loop. Plus, looking back, our kids might wonder what happened to this year of their lives.

Top changes this year...

1. Work
Jeff started and finished a training program that would help him in his new career as a machinist. He is so happy with his new career path. We are so proud of him, too. After 14ish years in woodworking, working with metals keeps his creative soul happy.

I moved from the classroom to the office. I am the mean assistant principal now. It took me awhile to mentally adjust, and I still miss working with my babies, but no matter what school you go to there are amazing kids, teachers, and staff. Plus, I have some out of this world stories. Sometime I should tell you how I got the voodoo doll.

2. House
We are still in love with our house. We are still in love with our neighborhood and neighbors. I am still in love with decorating and rearranging--just ask Jeff, when I call him from the local consignment store to come pick up a tacky, vintage sofa. Since my house (I feel like I should name her or something...) was built in 1950. I love making purchases that befit her age.

3. Dogs
I told you that Paddy and Tack died in August, only weeks apart. Ugh. The worst ever. That left poor little Frisco all by himself and he was not having it. I always thought people who took their animals to therapists were a special type of asshole, but I considered joining that club for three whole minutes. We adopted Tucker, a border collie mix, in November. Then we adopted another dog, Hansel, in December. Unfortunately Hansel had to go back to the rescue because he was stressing the other dogs out and getting snippy with the boys. We are much more balanced now (allegedly).

4. The boys are growing up!
Bradley will be in 2nd grade this August. Let me repeat that: he is going into SECOND EFFING GRADE! In second grade I had my first boyfriend. In second grade I got sent to the principal's office. I vividly remember shit from 2nd grade, which means we need to pay attention because we won't be able to use the phrases: "That never happened" or "You are imagining that" or "I think that was a dream".

This is Cash's last year of preschool. He is still going to preschool for his speech, though I am not sure why. He is incredibly loud and verbose. We second-guess speech therapy at least 17 times a day. He no longer wants to be called Cashy ("I am Cash, not Cashy"), he is obsessed with his father, and he cannot get enough of trains/trucks/airplanes.

I am so pleased that things have settled down some. I learned that even though me and my family are Type A, have varying degrees of OCD, am hermits/homebodies, that we really can roll with the punches. That being said, they were good punches this year. We had friends and family experience loss and illness, so having physical health (see what I did there?) and each other is a boon.

A Christmas Picture Photo Essay

If you know B, you know that he is my good soldier. He is the epitome of a sweet, tender-hearted, mature, thoughtful, and all-around good guy. Apparently he needed a break. He went out on a limb tonight and tried to spice up the family photo session.

Doubtful I need to fill in the blanks here. Go ahead and scroll from the top again.

PS- Thanks to my friend, Joseph, for taking candid shots.

The boys room @ the Yellow House

 Like I've said, I wanted to keep things cleaner and more neutral this time around. We've kept the walls all the same colors where we have painted (the living room, the boys' room, and our bedroom). I love the color, Cozy Cottage, because it's such a warm tone for being so light.

Decorating on these walls is rough because of the plaster--I don't dare nail or drill. I fell back on a decorating scheme we used before with the boys, posters and maps, but this time we had to put a twist on it. Here is how a lot of the items looked in the Portobello House.

This is the new reincarnation...

I used black electrical tape because a) it is less stickier than normal tape, b) I like the industrial and unfinished look of it, and c) I needed it too look purposeful--as opposed to using clear tape.

His favorite part are the lights, of course. I hate these bastards. I've tried to use them before, but they are SO fragile. Trust me, if you use them, get as many boxes of replacement lights. These bulbs are more fragile than my psyche reading a fashion magazine.

Some old and some new. Grandpa's globe, the refabbed light, homemade curtains, and the same vintage furniture.

A view of Cash's wall and their quilts were made by my Aunt Jeannie. I asked her to incorporate some of their old t-shirts. Creepy Paddy the dog photo bomb.

Close up of taped posters and a banner I made from some cutouts of a map of Montreal and Toulouse Lautrec (one of my faves) postcards. I went with the "fancy men" images. I will save the half-naked dancers and prostitutes for their teen room.

One of my favorite projects was the letter paintings (you can spy them in the pictures above). I love finding art at Goodwill, either to use or to refab the canvas. I found a couple landscapes that had the same map-ish colors and I decided to redo a Pinterest craft. If you're on Pinterest, you've seen it everywhere. Anyway, here is my version.

Get a painting from a thrift store. (Add a good helping of guilt, as you can only imagine someone being thrilled with their "happy trees", never imagining it would end up at GW for $4.)

Use painters tape to block off what you want to keep.

Now this is important. At 10pm, drag out all your supplies to the backyard and begin painting. I used spray paint because it's so fast. Rile up the neighbor dog and freak out the neighbor, who thinks you are a hoodlum tagging his property. When the paint is sufficiently dry (or still wet in my case), pull up the paint, and admire your handiwork.

They turned out pretty good.

Also in the room, is this chest from my great-great Uncle Dick. It needs to be refinished, but it has a perfect spot at the end of Cash's bed.

Their initials stools look great in here, too.

A gem I found at GW the other day is this painting. I don't have space to put it in their room, but I am going to find a spot for it. 

It's an oil painting of two little boys in a bed. It reminds me of bedtime here, since Cash is always trying to stowaway wherever B is and Bradley only half protests. Isn't it amazing?

I still have some other items to get to finish their room, but I no longer feel panicked about not having ideas or motivation to finish.

30 things... Day 10

Day 10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

(Editorial note. Your dad is sleeping. Snoring very loudly, so I will take this one on my own. #mommymartyr!)

Your dad's most embarrassing...
Without going into too many details your dad had to wear a bag in 6th grade. Yes, a bag. So he could pee. I am sure he will tell you the story someday when you guys are fighting or getting to rough with each other, but one day he and Uncle Brad got into a confrontation. This confrontation led to a particularly vicious kick to an area and your dad was so (ahem) swollen he had to have a catheter in him. Yeah, pretty bad. The good news is there was no lasting damage. You two are here!

Mom's most embarrassing...
When I was in 6th grade your grandpa made Uncle Jonathan and I ride the city bus home from his school, which was across town from our house. Jonathan and I had been bitching so much about waiting after school that grandpa seized a "teachable moment". He made us get a bus schedule, map out a way home, and then we had to follow that route home. It meant two different transfers, which is intense considering buses only stopped about 4 times a day. If we missed a transfer we were screwed. We ended up being late and the bus driver called ahead to hold the bus. We had to run to catch it and I ended up watching my foot on the bike rack and went sprawling. To everyone else I was a clumsy kid, to me it was the end of the world. Of course the guy who helped me up was "totally hot".

30 things... Day 9

Day 9. Describe 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

In no certain order...

1.-4. Your grandparents, Nanny, Grandpa, Grandma, and Papa.
Basically these are the people who brought us into the world and raised us to be who we are. So blame them. JK. They taught us how to be productive citizens and (hopefully) good parents. Our parents have modeled for us long and lasting marriages, too, which is a lovely template for us to follow. One thing that we appreciate about our parents is none of them have ever sugar coated the importance of being a parent. They have always been good sounding boards for us.

5. Your Uncle Brad.
Most of what you need to know is here. It's hard to describe him. We wish deeply that he could have known you both. He would think it "fucking cool" that Bradley is named after him and Cash would have had a perfect partner in crime.

6. Mr. Richardson, Dad's shop teacher from HS.
Dad's senior year he had three shop classes. I don't even know how one does that, but he did. He was also the man who got your father his job at Burdette, meaning he has been there (as I write this) 14 years!

7. Grandpoo.
Most of what you need to know about my grandfather is here. He was such a good man--not a modern man by any stretch of imagination, he had his flaws, but personality and swear words for days.

8. My students.
Every day I feel lucky to be surrounded by teenagers. How many people can say that? I think they are fun, honest, and interesting. It's funny when people shudder when I tell them what I do. I shudder, because adults are mean, boring, and sometimes thoughtless.

9.-10. You two. Bradley and Cash.
This whole blog is a tribute to you two. The life we make, the joys and trials we experience. To say you've changed/influenced us would be the greatest understatement possible.